Category: News

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Yoga Therapies: Cancer Support

The following post is excerpted from Jillian McKee’s unpublished article “Great Poses for Cancer Patients” with many thanks.

With cancer already taking its toll upon the body, chemotherapy and/or radiation can have damaging effects. For this reason, many patients seek out alternative therapies, including yoga, to augment their traditional therapies as well as ease the associated side effects. Numerous reports have proven that yoga is a helpful tool in coping with the decreased immune system and nausea often associated with treatment.

Several clinical reports find that one hour a day of yoga, versus mild exercise and counseling, decreased nausea and contributed to a greater sense of well being. There are certain poses specifically designed to promote digestive health that provide the body with immense benefits. Yoga poses open the flow of the digestive tract and can help a patient who maybe experiencing chemotherapy’s side effects.

Click on any image to begin a slide show of suggested poses with descriptions.[nggallery id=1]

Keep in mind that the postures are just a portion of yoga practice. Pranayama, or Yogic breathing, meditation, and relaxation also will restore an individual’s spiritual, physical, emotional and mental health. Laughter Yoga also includes an option to lift a person’s spirit and bring about a positive state of being.

“While it’s not a cure for cancer, yoga enhances physical and emotional wellness—and brings a peace many patients had thought they’d lost forever.”
From “Yoga for Cancer“ by Sandy Boucher

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Welcome Living Social Newbies

Over 150 people have purchased 20 Yoga Classes for $20 on the Living Social website. This very deeply discounted offer is for new students only, and we are happy to introduce new students to our beautiful studio.

If you are a new student, check the SCHEDULE tab on this website to see the classes we offer.  If after work on a weekday is best for you, we offer General Yoga, 6:45p on Mondays and Wednesdays; Gentle Yoga, 5:15p on Tuesdays and Thursdays; and, Saturday and Sunday mornings it’s Gentle Yoga at 10a. All classes are 75 minutes long. The Gentle Yoga classes are best if you are new to yoga.

Another idea for getting started is the Explore Yoga class offered at 11:30 Sunday mornings.

Once you decide on a class, simply click on its listing in the Class Schedule page and register for the class online. This allows us to limit the number of students attending the class to 20, and for you to check out how full the class is. When asked how you want to pay, go ahead and sign in as UNPAID. When you come to your first class, we will register you as purchasing through the Living Social special.

Please remember that once you register for a class the 60 day limit will begin for you to take 20 classes — and please understand that we cannot extend that limit.

Feel free to contact Karen, the owner of Yoga Circle Studio with you questions. In the meantime, thanks for signing up, we look forward to sharing many happy moments on the mat with you.

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Summer News

As we start our new six month schedule, we are closing the studio for a week to repair some ceiling cracks…all to support greater peace of mind as we look up.

We will reopen for regular classes on Saturday, July 8.

During that time, I will host three General Yoga classes at my home studio, AngelArmsWorks, 230 Avenue B, the pink church at Third and B in Snohomish.

The dates are July 5,6 & 7 — Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday — at 10a. You can preregister online or just DROP IN. Come and enjoy the divine ambiance and the garden.

(As many of you know, the studio is also the location of our Summer Sunday Studio Concerts. The next one is July 10th with the Michael Brockman Trio, cool jazz from one of Seattle’s secret treasures. Read more here and subscribe for all the details.)

As always, we welcome newcomers and seasoned practicioners to this beautiful practice of yoga. I know of nothing quite like yoga to make you feel better all over.

To confirm that “feel better feeling” scientifically, I just posted a terrific article about the physical and biochemical benefits of yoga to Yoga Circle Studio’s Facebook page. Here’s a sample:

“Yoga …boosts levels of the feel-good brain chemicals like GABA, serotonin, and dopamine, which are responsible for feelings of relaxation and contentedness, and the way the brain processes rewards. All three neurotransmitters are the targets of various mood medications like antidepressants (e.g., SSRIs) and anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) drugs. The fact that yoga is linked to improved levels of these coveted chemicals is nothing to sneeze at.

Yoga has another bonus, says Sarah Dolgonos, MD, who has taught at the Yoga Society of New York’s Ananda Ashram. She points out that in addition to suppressing the stress response, yoga actually stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms us down and restores balance after a major stressor is over. When the parasympathetic nervous system switches on, “blood is directed toward endocrine glands, digestive organs, and lymphatic circulation, while the heart rate and blood pressure are lowered,” says Dolgonos. With the parasympathetic nervous system in gear, “our bodies can better extract nutrients from the food we eat, and more effectively eliminate toxins because circulation is enhanced. With parasympathetic activation, the body enters into a state of restoration and healing.”

Read more here….